I feel like coming back to intel..

Ok well, I've had a few intel system before this current AMD one but I feel like going back to intel (don't get me wrong, AMD is good and all but I'm itching to change again ). The only problem is, I can't really afford a big huge new system; so heres my thoughts.

I was going to go witha 955 or 925 chipset (not sure which one as yet, was thinking along the lines of a Abit AA8 or a Asus P5WD2 )

For arguments sake lets just say I go with the Abit board...
Abit aa8 thingy
intel celeron 340
pci-e vid
ddr2
Thermalright cooler or zalman... dunno which

The card and the ram are not what concerns me at this point in time, its the board and the cpu. Now, would the 340 come close to the performance of my AXP? Would I just be better off saving for the P4 option and say 'Hell no' to the celeron? The main uses for this rig are gaming and infact, video editing. I realise the cache on the 340 is not exactly the best in the world, but surely this would be a viable option if I wanted to take the budget route and save for a high powered cpu?

Let me know what ya think

go 955 chipset.

the celeron at stock is not a great performer. If you overclock, it should go very nicely, most can get to 4ghz, and that will make a large difference.

Would the performance difference between that and my AXp be noticable? Is there any other celeron model that I should get instead of the 340?

edit: Thanks btw

The Celeron D if overclocked up into the 3.6+ range will beat out a Barton, but if you are going to all the expense of upgrading, might as well save up a little more coin to get a P-4 and make a bigger jump. Since some of the Intel folks are upgrading to the 8XX series dual core, look for a good used 5XX series E0 stepping or better yet 6XX series for a good price. For gaming and video editing, you want the extra cache.

The i855 chipset like the Asus P5WD provides a good upgrade path if you ever decide to get a dual core in the future. But, the Abit AA8XE is a good bargain right now at half the price and is a great stable overclocker. Make sure you get the AA8XE and not the AA8 series. I have a O/C guide to the AA8XE in the form of a sticky post in the Abit motherboard section.

If you want a good O/C, get a Thermalright, like the copper version of the XP-92 (C?). The XP-120 will fit with some minor modding to the N/B of the AA8XE (there is a link in my sticky post about what to do).

Edit: oops, didn't see until now you are in NZ... not sure why prices are so expensive there when you are so close to where motherboards are made in SE Asia.

Cool

Yeah I'm not in a super big hurry at the moment, but its something i've been giving serious consideration to. My first p4 was a 1.6a and damn did that thing clock. Chances are I won't go dual core as they're waaaaay too expensive in NZ (got $960for the cpu alone?). I'm not really up to the play on the chipsets nowdays, whats the advantage that the 955 has over the 925, is it just the dual core supprt?

The main advantage of i955 over i925 is indeed dual core processor support, but the i955 will also run a little higher FSB too in case you are trying to use the 14X multiplier for extreme overclocks.

Hrmm the 925 sounds like it would be the right one for me then, I don't really go for extreme overclocking (Prefer air cooling anyway, without deafening fans).

batboy said:

The main advantage of i955 over i925 is indeed dual core processor support, but the i955 will also run a little higher FSB too in case you are trying to use the 14X multiplier for extreme overclocks.

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also intel are making new chipset changes which allow dual pci-e 8x slots meaning SLI

Goateh said:

Hrmm the 925 sounds like it would be the right one for me then, I don't really go for extreme overclocking (Prefer air cooling anyway, without deafening fans).

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At the very least get an i945 chipset. The older i925 and i915 are utter garbage. Dont waste your time on them.

Blackmage said:

also intel are making new chipset changes which allow dual pci-e 8x slots meaning SLI

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So I should wait a while until these come out ?

Sentential said:

At the very least get an i945 chipset. The older i925 and i915 are utter garbage. Dont waste your time on them.

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Ah ok, I'll remember that. Cheers